Chapter 1544 — 1544: Zombification

The governor of Vegus Minima and his family weren't the only ones from the Jotun empire who had a history with the Inn and had returned.

The Inn had many new cities that had been established to cover for the increasing number of guests, and in a particular city called Las Nachos, there was a pyramid shaped building, although certain guests argued that it was the shape of a Tortilla chip. Regardless of the inspiration for its architecture, the building was actually the latest and largest branch of the Gamers Den.

The building was divided into levels starting from the base all the way to the tip, and to move from one level to the next, all a guest needed to do was have some level of success in any game. It was more of a gimmick than anything else, yet it was surprisingly successful.

Of course, the higher up one wanted to go, the greater the achievement they needed. Starting from playing a game halfway through, the difficulty requirement for each level rose. Some of the higher levels required achievements like attaining a high kill streak in the popular game COD - Call of Doughnuts, a game in which the gamer was a baker who baked lethally delicious doughnuts and got points for how many heart attacks their doughnuts could cause.

Another example of a ridiculously difficult achievement required for a higher level of the building was getting a number of successful rolls in Eldem Rings - a game about a jeweller who made sentient wedding rings that would roll off the fingers of unfaithful spouses. Creating rings that could detect genuinely unfaithful spouses required an insanely high level of skill to the extent that it caused many players to rage quit the game.

Of course, to get to the highest level of the building, one had to attain 100% completion in the ultimate game called Crusader Kings III. The game was inspired by the Midnight Inn, and required players to host guests and deal with the immense difficulty of running an Inn.1

Despite the difficulty of reaching the very top, it was ultimately meant to be achievable, and so guests who often visited the Gamers Den would sooner or later achieve it.

Leo, the owner of the Gamers Den, was personally overseeing this branch as over 10,000 guests were currently in the building playing games. A large number of them were even participating in the ongoing LoL - Laugh out Legends - tournament.

Yet amidst the crowd, Leo suddenly spotted a familiar face - one he didn't expect to see at the Gamers Den.

Clarissa Jotun, sentient zombie, active member of the book club inside the Inn, and daughter of emperor Jotun was sitting in one of the cubicles on the top floor, playing a cozy fishing game.

Considering she was the daughter of the emperor, Leo expected that she would be in a viewing booth, waiting to see her fathers match. But, as unbelievable as her presence was in the Gamers Den, even more surprising was that accompanying her were her fiance, General Ragnar Asulf of the Jotun army, as well as Charles Best, the Inns doctor who was up until recently in seclusion.

Leo could not help but go over to personally see if they needed anything.

"Dear guests, I hope everything is up to standard," he said, walking up to them. "Please let me know if there's anything additional you might need."

Clarissa didn't even turn, her focus entirely on decorating her fishing ship in the cutest way, but Ragnar and Charles looked over. Under their gaze, Leo couldn't help but reminisce a little.

Back when the system was new, Ragnar was so unbelievably powerful to Lex, he was practically a living legend. Nay, he was a walking, talking myth. Yet now, even though he hadn't caught up to him in realm, he could at least sense that they were close - at least in terms of realm.

Lex was not so arrogant as to think he was the generals equal just yet. He had a feeling that just as Cornelius had been unexpectedly powerful, the general boasted incredible power he did not normally reveal. If that were not the case, he would not have been selected as a son-in-law by the emperor personally.

"Thank you for your consideration," said the general politely. "We have everything we need for now. I'll let you know if there's anything we require."

The general's expression when looking at Lex was like an adult, looking fondly down at a child. It could not be helped - after a lifetime of fighting demons, the general has a great fondness for humans, and strongly hated demons and devils.

"No wait, actually, we might just need your help," said Charles, his eyes suddenly sparkling as he saw Leo.

Before elaborating, Charles pressed a button on the gaming table, causing a wall to rise out of the ground, isolating the gaming cubicle, creating a perfect environment for high intensity gaming.

"General, Leo is more than just the owner of the Gaming Den," Charles said, turning to the man. "He is also very resourceful, and may be able to help out with your situation. Of course, whether to include him in this is your own decision. I can only recommend it."

The general turned to look at Leo more intensely, his gaze trying to penetrate past his appearance, studying him deeply. Leo, in turn, studied the general.

During the general's last public fight with a devil, he had been infected by the curse destined to turn him into an Immortal level zombie. His pale, dry skin and red eyes hinted at the fact that the process had already begun.

But the process was not supposed to take this long. The fact that he had not yet turned into a zombie entirely meant that, somehow, he was fighting the curse. If that was the case, Leo could somewhat guess as to what the generals predicament might be. After all, besides the three of them, there was also Clarissa in this room!

She was someone who had been entirely zombified, yet had not actually died or lost her personality in the process. She retained her entire self, even though she was no longer human.

"Since Dr. Charles trusts you, I suppose it won't hurt to include you in this," finally said Ragnar.

For those that don't know, this is a reference to a MOD inspired by The Innkeeper that was created by one of the readers in the game called Kings Crusaders III. For those of you who play, do check it out and give it some support!